Bhakti
Bhakti
8min110reads120
Vedanta reveals that freedom is impossible as long as the ego seeks to preserve itself. Meditation may bring temporary calm, but real transformation begins only when the false sense of individuality dissolves. Whether through devotion or knowledge, every genuine spiritual path culminates in the complete dissolution of the seeker into Truth. Liberation is not the experience of Truth by an individual—it is the end of the individual who wants to experience Truth.
Bhakti
11min414reads144
प्रार्थना का अर्थ किसी बाहरी शक्ति से इच्छाएँ माँगना नहीं, बल्कि स्वयं को उसके सामने पूर्णतः समर्पित कर देना है। जब तक अहंकार और व्यक्तिगत कर्तापन बना रहता है, प्रार्थना अधूरी रहती है। सच्ची प्रार्थना में व्यक्ति का सीमित “मैं” मिटता है और उसके कर्म बोध तथा सत्य से संचालित होने लगते हैं। तब जीवन में सही निर्णय स्वाभाविक रूप से होते हैं और बाहरी समस्याओं का समाधान भी उसी जागरूकता से निकलता है।
Bhakti
5min354reads100
Questioner (Q): Why do we forget?
Acharya Prashant (AP): The question is, "Why do we forget? Why forgetting is a property of the mind?"
Do not ask, "Why do we forget?" Just remember that we forget. Because when you forget then you don’t ask this question that, "Why do we…
Bhakti
14min11.2kreads1091
Truth enlightens, so it is attractive. Maya enthrals, so it is sometimes even more attractive. Where to go — that is the battle.
Bhakti
14min840reads1146
You cannot worship something with the intent of obtaining favors—that's exploitation. Worshiping a cow while asking for milk is not worship. Worship is when you do not use any dairy product and yet respect the cow. The common man sees everything as an object for consumption. True nature worship is desireless—not based on consumption, with no one left to desire.
Excerpts from Articles
Climate Change: The Solution Is a Choice
Climate change is more than an environmental crisis—it is a crisis of human choices. Our patterns of consumption, consumerism and endless pursuit of more are putting increasing pressure on the planet. But meaningful change does not necessarily begin with new technology or stricter policies. It begins with a deeper question: what are we willing to change within ourselves?
कद नहीं, अपनी कहानी बदलो
कई तरह के डर—अकेले पड़ने, छवि खोने या छोटा समझे जाने—की जड़ अक्सर अतीत में बनी पहचान और कहानियों में होती है। शरीर की हाइट जैसी चीज़ों को समस्या मानकर उनसे जूझने के बजाय उनकी अप्रासंगिकता को समझकर आगे बढ़ना चाहिए। अतीत को दबाने से मुक्ति नहीं मिलती; उसके करीब जाकर अपनी स्मृतियों, धारणाओं और पुराने पैटर्न को निष्पक्षता से देखना ज़रूरी है।
प्रूफ नहीं है, तो मानें क्यों?
अंधविश्वास या किसी दावे को केवल किताबों, परंपराओं या बड़ी-बड़ी हस्तियों के कहने से नहीं मानना चाहिए। भौतिक जगत से जुड़े हर दावे के लिए प्रमाण माँगना आवश्यक है। जो बात जाँची-परखी जा सकती है, उसे तर्क, प्रयोग और उपकरणों से जाना जाए; बिना जाने नहीं माना जाए। सच्ची जिज्ञासा वही है जो हर दावे के सामने प्रश्नचिह्न रखे और प्रमाण मिलने पर ही स्वीकार करे।
सपने, सरकारी नौकरी और पेंशन: जवानी किसके लिए है?
सपनों और सामाजिक प्रतिष्ठा के पीछे भागते हुए युवा अक्सर अपनी वास्तविक क्षमता, रुचि और वर्तमान चुनौतियों को देखना भूल जाते हैं। आईआईटी, यूपीएससी, सरकारी नौकरी और पेंशन को जीवन का लक्ष्य मान लेने के बजाय ज़रूरी है आत्मज्ञान—ख़ुद को ईमानदारी से परखना। जवानी भविष्य की सुरक्षा की चिंता में नहीं, आज की वास्तविक चुनौतियों से जूझने और सार्थक कर्म में लगनी चाहिए।
अंधविश्वास असल में झूठ को स्वीकृति पाने की चाह है
एक पुजारी जो रोज़ भूत-प्रेत, तंत्र-मंत्र और वशीकरण के नाम पर आए लोगों से मिलता है, आचार्य प्रशांत से पूछता है: जब वो ख़ुद जानता है कि कुछ भूत-चुड़ैल नहीं होता, तो लोग बार-बार इसी झूठ की शरण में क्यों जाते हैं? जवाब अंधविश्वास से कहीं गहरा निकलता है — यह हमारे भीतर के उस झूठ की कहानी है, जिसे हम हर कीमत पर बचाना चाहते हैं।
Stuck Between Job Security and Your Real Passion?
Struggling to choose between a secure job and the path you actually feel drawn to? This isn't really a question about careers. It's about why other people's opinions have so much power over you in the first place. Real clarity doesn't come from finding the 'right' choice. It comes from honestly looking at your own fear, again and again, until it stops running the decision for you.
ज्योतिष कितना सच है? कुंडली, ग्रह-नक्षत्र: इनका क्या अर्थ है?
वेदांत को केवल इसलिए सही या श्रेष्ठ नहीं माना जा सकता कि वह किसी विशेष परंपरा से आता है। विज्ञान जहाँ भौतिक जगत की वस्तुनिष्ठ जाँच करता है, वहीं अद्वैत वेदांत सीधे मनुष्य के ‘मैं’, उसके दुख, बंधन और मुक्ति की पड़ताल करता है। इसकी कसौटी वैज्ञानिक प्रमाण नहीं, बल्कि अपने जीवन में इसकी सच्चाई को देख पाना है। किसी दर्शन को मान लेना नहीं, बल्कि उससे स्वयं को मुक्त करना ही उसका वास्तविक उद्देश्य है।
फ़ालतू खर्च छोड़िए, अपनी ज़िंदगी पर खर्च करना सीखिए
आचार्य प्रशांत बताते हैं कि क्यों हम सही खान-पान, स्वास्थ्य और अपने ऊपर ज़रूरी खर्च से बचते हैं, लेकिन दिखावे और फ़ालतू सामाजिक परंपराओं पर पैसा बहा देते हैं। अधिकांश लोगों के लिए समस्या सिर्फ़ पैसों की कमी नहीं, बल्कि विवेक और सही प्राथमिकताओं की कमी भी है।
रक्षाबंधन: वो रक्षा माँग रही है - ज़रा सुनिए
रक्षाबंधन केवल भाई-बहन के रिश्ते और सुरक्षा की रस्म तक सीमित नहीं होना चाहिए। आज असली रक्षा उन चीज़ों की ज़रूरत है जो कमज़ोर और संकट में हैं—गौरैया, नदियाँ, पहाड़, पेड़, महासागर और पृथ्वी। साथ ही ईमानदारी, आत्मज्ञान और मानवीय मूल्यों की भी रक्षा जरूरी है। धर्म कर्मकांड नहीं, अपनी शक्ति और उससे जुड़ी व्यापक ज़िम्मेदारी को समझना है।
जो खुद आज़ाद नहीं, वह लोकतंत्र को मजबूत कैसे करेगा?
लोकतंत्र, गणतंत्र और स्वतंत्रता केवल संविधान में लिखे शब्द नहीं, बल्कि जागरूक नागरिक की चेतना पर निर्भर हैं। वास्तविक स्वतंत्रता मनमानी करने की छूट नहीं, बल्कि भीतर घुसे भय, लालच, अंधविश्वास, पूर्वाग्रह और बाहरी प्रभावों से मुक्ति है। जब नागरिक अपने ही विचारों और मान्यताओं की जाँच नहीं करता, तो लोकतंत्र भीड़तंत्र और संप्रभुता खोखली बन सकती है।
Bhakti
12min531reads63
कुछ काम करोगे, कुछ पसीना बहाओगे या सन्तों की वाणी सुनकर के ही तर जाओगे? सन्तजन तुमसे कोई सुनी-सुनायी बात कह रहे हैं? उन्होंने अपने जीवन की कीमत अदा करी है, पूरे जीवन की कुरबानी दी है, पूरी ज़िन्दगी लगायी है। तब वो, वो बात कह पाये हैं जो उन्हें समझ में आयी है। एक ज़िन्दगी होती है उससे फिर सन्त की वाणी उठती है। चूँकि उसने जीवन ऐसा जिया है। ‘अभ्यास’ पर इसीलिए इतना ज़ोर दिया जाता है न। कुर्बानी पर तभी इतना ज़ोर दिया जाता। और ये सब एक ही बात है — अभ्यास, कुर्बानी, समर्पण, तपस्या, साधना। इन सबको एक ही दिशा का मानना।
Bhakti
9min279reads2
भक्ति शुरू ही होती है आत्म-आलोचना से, और इस दृढ़ विश्वास के साथ कि यह जितनी बुराइयाँ हैं, यह समाप्त हो सकती हैं। जो अच्छे-से-अच्छा है वह दूर सही, पर प्राप्य है। मिलेगा! तो भक्त एक बड़ी विचित्र बात कहता है। कहता है कि मुझसे बुरा कुछ नहीं; जितनी भर बुराइयाँ थीं वह सब इकट्ठी होकर मुझमें आ गयी हैं। जो कुछ भी अच्छा है, ऊँचा है, शुद्ध है, पावन है, वह मेरे भगवान में निहित है। और साथ ही साथ वह यह भी कहता है कि इतना अंतर होते हुए भी उस भगवान को पा लूँगा मैं।
Bhakti
14min483reads5
भक्त पूरी सावधानी रखता है कि वो अपने ऊपर किसी भी तरह का भरोसा न कर बैठे। वो आख़िरी काम है जो उसे करना है, क्या? ख़ुद पर भरोसा; अपनी ही ताक़त या अपने निर्णय पर भरोसा। भक्त कहता है, ‘ये नहीं करना है क्योंकि यही कर-कर के तो अपनी दुर्गति करी है।’ तो भक्त कहता है, ‘अब मेरे सारे निर्णय कौन करेगा? मेरा भगवान करेगा। रास्ता कौन बताएगा? भगवान बताएगा।’
Bhakti
22min399reads51
Questioner: Due to my conditioning and fear, mind tries to perceive some ‘thing’ to surrender to. This stops me from actually surrendering. With this conflict, how to understand if there is any movement towards the centre, or is it all at the periphery?
Acharya Prashant: The inner and the outer…
Clarity
33min1.4kreads312
आचार्य प्रशांत: देखो, डाउट और ट्रस्ट दोनों किसी ऑब्जेक्ट पर होते हैं। फ़ेथ भी जब तक उस तरह की है कि कोई ऑब्जेक्ट है उसका, तब तक तो घटेगी-बढ़ेगी है ही। फ़ेथ एबसोल्यूट तब होती है जब वो ऑब्जेक्टलेस (निष्प्रयोजन) होती है। अगर तुम इतना भी कह रहे हो न…
Clarity
17min806reads111
Questioner: Namaskar Acharya ji. Acharya ji, I have been listening to you for quite some time now, and one thing that I have noticed is that whenever you speak on any topic, you always speak in the light of Advait Vedant. One thing also on which you have spoken a…
Love
7min620reads5
Acharya Prashant: I might be a very violent man. And my goal is to blast a building off. To learn how to do it, I have to live through stern discipline. I will have to build my body, I will have to learn several skills. I may have the discipline…
Truth
3min1.2kreads255
You never go and ask real questions. You ask, “How to surrender to the Truth?” but you never ask, “How to surrender to money?” There you very conveniently and easily surrender. Anybody who has faced difficulty in surrendering to fear? Have you seen how easy that is! But in surrendering to Truth you say, “It is so impossible, how do I make that choice?”
Love
5min465reads1
Acharya Prashant: So, you are asking, ‘How to surrender’?
If I say you can surrender by jumping from that hill top, you won’t take the advice, right? It would be foolish advice if I say that. If I say, you can surrender by jumping into leaping flames, that is again…
Bhagavad Gita
15min719reads1
So, if I really love Krishna, obviously I will be going through the Gītā 2000 times. And in the light of Gītā , I will then read *Bhagavat Purana* , *Harivansh Purana* , many other *Puranas* ; and then I will be able to understand the stories in the Puranic way. Without understanding the Gītā , how will you understand the *Purana* ? Read more...
Shri Krishna
25min1.9kreads143
प्रश्नकर्ताः धन्यवाद, सभा में उपस्थित सभी लोगों का अभिनन्दन! मैं डा. कुमार मनोज, मैं आधुनिक चिकित्सा में यूरोप से प्रशिक्षित एक चिकित्सक हूँ। और फिलहाल मैं दिल्ली के एक शासकीय चिकित्सा महाविद्यालय में मनोरोग विभाग में कार्यरत हूँ। मैं जब भारत वापस आया तो मैं अपने भारतीय समाज की सेवा…
Bhakti
22min194reads41
Question: At some places it is said that the ego must exist, the ego must be sharpened. At other places it is said that the ego is false, the ego simply does not exist. What is this paradox?
Speaker: At several points, by several teachers, it has been…
Bhakti
8min239reads11
Question: Whenever I listen to your videos, or read your articles on blog, my mind seems to be free of fear. But this stays only for a small duration of time. If I want to increase the frequency of reading, there is a lot of resistance, and I want to…
Bhakti
8min117reads1
Question: Is it incorrect to refer to intelligence as my intelligence?
Speaker: In love if you do that, it’s wonderful. You are saying, “Is it incorrect to refer to intelligence as my intelligence?” If you are referring to intelligence as my intelligence in love, then it’s wonderful, but if you…
Bhakti
4min218reads33
Speaker: Is there any freshness possible to somebody who is beyond corruption and fatigue? If you cannot get stale, how will you get fresh?
Who gets stale? The mind.
And who gets fresh? The mind.
The very usefulness of going to one extreme of duality is that it makes the…
Ego
25min201reads4
Question: When a person has, after such a discussion, understood that this is what his situation is, what should he do after that?
Speaker: Who is to do what? Who are you referring to?
Listener: Probably me, myself.
Speaker: Where is that?
When you say, “What am I to do?”…
Bhakti
10min145reads21
Questioner: It is said, “You have what you need utmost”, so why do we try to ignore some situations?
Speaker: You are sprouting forth from existence. You are the existence’s will. You are the desire of the existence to express itself. You have done nothing in your expression, right? That…
Bhakti
11min182reads
Question: Sir, we just heard one of the couplets of Kabir, saying, “Jo sukh sadhu sang mein, so baikunth mein na hoi.” (The Joy that I find in the company of Saint, that Joy is greater than the joy of heaven).
Is this verse being used in the negative…
Bhakti
8min148reads
Speaker: Bhagyashree has enquired about Leela. What is Leela?
Yes, what is Leela? Let’s come up. What is Leela?
Listener 1: What all is going on all around.
Listener 2: The play.
Listener 3: Game of Maya with Truth.
Listener 4: When you are in the game it remains a…
Love
29min339reads8
आचार्य प्रशांत: “घूॅंघट के पट खोल रे तोहे पिया मिलेंगे।” मन के कुछ सिद्धान्त हैं जो इससे एकदम सामने आते हैं उनको समझ लेना है। पहला, प्रत्येक प्राणी प्रेमी है प्राण माने प्रेम; अज्ञान में प्रेम की ही ऊर्जा कुछ और बन जाती है। कुछ और क्या? कामना, भय, ईर्ष्या,…
Bhakti
3min417reads71
Questioner: Acharya Ji, please explain about honesty and simplicity.
Acharya Prashant: When do things become complex? When there is fear between you and the obvious. Neither can you deny the obvious, nor can you overcome your fear. Then one goes round and round.
It is very difficult to break away…
Bhakti
8min386reads2
“What is samaadhi?”
*“It is the complete merging of the mind in God-Consciousness. The jnani experiences jada samaadhi, in which no trace of ‘I’ is left. The samaadhi attained through the path of bhakti is called ‘chaitanya samaadhi’.”*
“In this samaadhi there remains the consciousness of ‘I’…
Bhakti
3min435reads461
Question: Sir, many a times it happens that we ask a question to ourselves and then we are also able to answer it on our own. Moreover, this is what forms the basis of so many assumptions that we take. Is this an appropriate method or should verification also be…
Bhakti
8min186reads1
Questioner (Q): How to have the faith, strength and trust to let go of my identities and dissolve into the One? How to avoid being carried away by the fragmented identities in the middle of my everyday activities?
Acharya Prashant (AP): You will have to allow something big to take…
Bhakti
11min488reads21
Acharya Prashant: Among the Indian saints, in the whole galaxy of the saints of the World, Kabir is delightfully special. It is said that he was born a Hindu, but because he was born of a widow, so out of social shame the mother went and kept the baby Kabir…
Bhagavad Gita
14min701reads3
श्रीभगवानुवाच
पार्थ नैवेह नामुत्र विनाशस्तस्य विद्यते ।।
न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चिद्दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति ।। 40 ।।
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
pārtha naiveha nāmutra vināśhas tasya vidyate
na hi kalyāṇa-kṛit kaśhchid durgatiṁ tāta gachchhati
The Blessed Lord said, ‘O Partha, there is certainly no ruin for him here or hereafter. For, no one…
Truth
6min199reads
Questioner: What is Shiva? What is Shakti?
Acharya Prashant: These are symbols. Shakti represents everything in motion, everything that can be experienced, everything that you can think of; Shakti represents the totality of that. If Shakti represents everything in motion, one feels like asking, “Why is everything in the motion…
Bhakti
7min129reads1
Questioner: Acharya Ji, you say, “Watch your cup of tea, watch your ugly modesty. Watch the tree, watch the bird. Liberation is there instantly.”
(The above lines have been taken from a poem penned down by Acharya Ji during the Myth Demolition Tour).
Acharya Ji, for me, the one who…
Saint Kabir
1min371reads3
Such fantastic mastery is rarely seen elsewhere. Obviously, you get glimpses of it in many other places as well. I respect all of them; all of them are very, very dear to me; I worship them. But when it comes to Kabir Sahib, I said I am a fanboy. When…
Bhakti
5min370reads51
Questioner: What is a ‘Temple’, and what purpose should it serve?
Acharya Prashant: A ‘Temple’ must definitely have elements that elevate your consciousness.
Being at a place, being with elements, being with people, being with structures, being with sites, scenes, sounds, that remind you of the Beyond, that take the…
Bhakti
9min715reads4
Listener: Sir I have heard or maybe read somewhere that you are a Christian, is that right?
Acharya Prashant: I love Jesus, l love Krishna, I love Buddha, they are all wonderful. There is no doubt that there is a lot about me which is Christian. I won’t even say…
Bhakti
9min213reads3
Question: Acharya Ji, how to move beyond the pointlessness of existence?
Acharya Prashant Ji: If you move beyond the pointlessness or even the relevance of something, you would move into the relevance, or significance, or need of something else.
(Acharya Ji referring to an example quoted earlier in the Satsang)…
Bhakti
1min333reads2
Questioner: Are spiritual scriptures useless?
Acharya Prashant: All these books are totally useless for the one who is not disturbed. In fact, the books themselves say, “After you have gone through us, just burn us, throw us away, treat us like excreta.”
Books are only for the one who is…
Bhakti
4min406reads1
Question 1: Pranaam Acharya Ji. I was introduced to Dhyan (meditation) through Indian Classical Music. Since then I am deeply interested in spirituality. In the last session you mentioned that cessation of passion is – dispassion. I think about it a lot, and I don’t think that I am passionate…
Bhakti
6min292reads51
Questioner: I am very inspired by Swami Vivekananda. How can I challenge my conditioning, reject distractions, and maintain continuity with the scriptures?
Acharya Prashant: You have a giant no less than Swami Vivekananda to get your answers from. See what he did: he lived by his conviction. Merely being impressed…
Bhagavad Gita
6min797reads1
Questioner (Q): Good afternoon, Sir. I have a doubt. In the market, there are a number of Bhagavad Gitas available. Somebody told me that there are eighty varieties of the Gita. Even though the slokas are the same, from what I have seen, the explanation was not making sense. In…
Bhakti
3min371reads
Question: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! I have a six year old son. Me and my husband regularly discuss on lot of issues, after watching your videos. My son has observed that we use words like ‘God’, ‘Truth’, ‘Love’ very often.
Many times, he approaches me and asks, “What is ‘Love’?”…
Bhakti
2min177reads
Questioner: Acharya Ji, what does it mean to be spiritual?
Acharya Prashant: It merely means that you are not being stupid. Is it necessary that you must at least be sometimes stupid? Is there such great attraction in stupidity?
If water and poison are kept in front of you, ten…
Ego
5min136reads2
Questioner: Pranaam Acharya Ji. The Yogi worships with a one-pointed mind, but I worship with a hidden desire and a hidden self-interest. Is my devotion wrong? What is one-pointed devotion?
Acharya Prashant: It is not about ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, it is about settling down with a little when a lot…
Bhakti
4min380reads1
Question: Dear Sir, I need your guidance in understanding this. Kindly help me.
The last week, I was extremely happy about my mental constitution. My mind was silent, there was no constant flow of needless thoughts, and I was engaged in what I was doing: playing music, reading, working, running…
Bhakti
3min264reads3
Question: How can one develop faith within oneself ?
Answer: Adita,
You have asked:
“Suppose a person realizes that the whole problem is because that faith is missing. Can it be regained? Can a person who does have faith, get it?How can one develop that faith within oneself? “
How…
Bhakti
8min329reads2
Question: When I read spiritual books, it feels like I am conditioning myself in a different way. Sometimes worldly desires take over me, and I am not able to stay spiritual all the time.
What can I do, to stay spiritual all the time?
Acharya Prashant Ji: See, spirituality is…
Meditation
5min158reads11
Questioner: Pranaam Acharya Ji. Why does spiritual sadhana take long to complete?
Acharya Prashant: The condition you have come to, is not sudden. It has taken millions of years of evolution for you to come to this state. It’s a very, very old habit. It is like dust that has…
Bhakti
5min323reads1
Question: What is real meaning of ‘devotion’ in spirituality? How can devotion help one to reach the Truth? What is the path of devotion? How to prepare oneself for devotion? Which one is greater, observation or devotion?
Acharya Prashant Ji:
‘Devotion’ is a million times more powerful than ‘observation’. With…
Bhakti
22min503reads114
Question: If I have to make a decision and there are two options, my thoughts don’t bring me any further. Then I try to listen to my heart, and that also does not bring me any answer. So, how can I find a way to the solution?
Acharya Prashant: If…